


Begin Again

by Everythinginasockdrawer



Category: Carmilla (Web Series), Carmilla - All Media Types
Genre: Blind Date, Clubbing, Coffee date, Engaged LaFerry, F/F, Matchmaker LaF, Netflix and Chill, Other, rated for language, sort of, without the chill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-06
Updated: 2016-11-06
Packaged: 2018-08-29 12:37:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8489950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Everythinginasockdrawer/pseuds/Everythinginasockdrawer
Summary: Carmilla is going through a bad break up, her ex leaving her broken and hurt, taking her things and leaving with nothing but a short note detailing all of the reasons she was dumping her. Eight months after Ell left her LaF finally sets her up with one of their friends in the hopes that she’ll be able to help heal the broken girl. Carm thought it was a terrible idea but when on the blind date anyways to get LaF off her back. Only she finds herself slowly falling for the energetic blonde who she can’t seem to say no to having coffee with.





	1. Break and Burn

**Author's Note:**

> So this is going to be my first multi-chapter story and I'm going to complete it... I know this because I already have before posting so I'm super proud of myself. This chapter doesn't have Laura in it but the next two have a ton of Laura so it makes up for it. Hope you enjoy my awkwardness which I totally imprint onto my characters because I need someone to be awkward with me. :P
> 
> P.S. Anything in italics are Carm's thoughts. Just in case you were curious... Okay you can read now...

**Chapter One: Break and Burn**

Carmilla watched the snow gently falling outside her window from within the large pile of blankets and pillows she had gathered on the couch. Her laptop sat nestled in her lap, a half finished email on the small screen, the bubbles from the screensaver bouncing around harmlessly in the frame. She sighed heavily, her dark brown eyes surveying the small studio apartment she was in. She had been living here for seven months and it still didn’t really feel like home, the yellow wallpaper was way to cheerful and clashed horribly with the lavender carpet covering the floor. The only thing that felt right in the room to her was the old black leather couch and the large king-sized bed fitted with black sheets and a matching comforter. She glanced down at her laptop and remembered that she’d been working on something before her mind had begun to wander, so she quickly moved the mouse to remove the screen saver and proceeded to continue writing the email. 

She was fairly certain her student could find the answers to his questions with a quick google search but she reminded herself what she had decided when her life had first started spiraling out of control.  _ It doesn’t matter how bad things are getting at home… You must remain the same teacher you have been for the last five years… The one that students love because she’s kind and helpful in her online classes.  _ Not for the first time she was glad that she was a strictly online teacher, she loved trying to enlighten students but there was something about actually seeing them that made teaching harder… especially when she was upset.

Her fingers flew across the keyboard for the next several hours, answering emails, grading papers and putting in grades with practiced ease until suddenly it was well past nine o’clock at night and she had graded everything that had been due for her students the previous Friday.  _ All done and it’s only Tuesday… I wonder if the kids in my Ancient Greek Mythology class would care if I bumped up their deadline so I had something to do…  _ She was pulled out of her thoughts by a loud knocking on her front door and she rolled her eyes with a groan, why would anyone be knocking on her door this late in the evening? Her question was answered when she heard a slightly annoyed voice calling through the door to her. 

“I know you’re home and you know I’m only knocking as a courtesy… I have a key.” Carmilla was both relieved and exasperated to hear the voice. They were her best and probably only friend in the entire universe. LaFontaine was brass and cared just enough about her to remind her to eat and sleep like a normal person so she wasn’t overly surprised to hear them outside the door.

“Well, come on in then, nothing’s keeping you out apparently.” She didn’t even manage to get the full sentence out before they had made their way into the room, plopping down unceremoniously on the bed and facing her, placing a small paper bag on the table in front of her. Their white lab coat and shockingly bright ginger hair popping out against the black of the bed. They didn’t even pause to think before they started speaking, their voice level and oddly comforting to the brunette. 

“Okay so for starters Perr wanted to know if you’d like to come over for dinner tomorrow night? She’s wanting to try this new recipe for potato soup and she’d like your opinion.” Carm nodded, still not completely understanding why the science geek was rambling on in the middle of her apartment when they could have easily just texted that info to her. Before she could voice that thought however they continued. “And we were talking and we think it’s time you go out… Like to do more than just go grocery shopping. So we’re setting you up with one of our friends.” Now that certainly got her attention, her eyes went wide and she was shaking her head violently before she even began speaking.

“Oh, no. No. You know how that went last time. Or did you forget everything that happened with Ell? I’m not going to get swept off my feet by tall, dark and handsome only to have her crush my heart again. Nope, no way.” For some reason they looked amused at her description of the make believe person, but they quickly flipped their facial expression back to indifference. 

“Look, Vamp. You’ve been holed up in your room for the last eight months brooding over what happened with  _ her  _ and we don’t really blame you for that. What she did was pretty terrible. But it’s time to get yourself back out there. You’re not getting any younger you know?” They ran their hand through their hair, a habit she had noticed they had when they were preparing to give a lecture or have a serious argument with someone and she knew she had already lost. No one escaped from them when they had their gameface on. 

“Are you sure this girl would even be interested in the first place? I don’t want to waste my time with someone who’s not even remotely interested.” Their face lit up when they realized she wasn’t going to fight them on it and she almost instantly regretted not trying to fight them on it. 

“I’m sure, you’re definitely her type. She’s into strong, independent, intelligent, broody women. Which is practically you in a nutshell. Oh, and she’s a writer, which gives you two plenty to talk about with you being an English professor and all. Look all we’re asking for now is that you two meet up for coffee and chat. It’s not hard and who knows, at the very least you could make a new friend out of this.” She had to admit they had a point, she really didn’t have anything to lose in the grand scheme of things so she might as well go. And it would be good for her to get out even for just a couple of hours.

“Okay, coffee… And don’t think I think this is a good idea, I’m just too tired from grading all of these papers to argue with you properly.” LaF shrugged their shoulders.

“As long as you go I’m happy. Whatever your reasons are for agreeing are totally your own thing… So, now that that’s out of the way I wanna watch your television so move over.” Carmilla groaned but still moved so the could sit on the other side of the couch, taking the remote from its spot on the coffee table and started flipping aimlessly through her crappy cable.

“When aren’t you watching TV at your place? You have a huge television there all to yourself.” LaF snorted.

“It’s only all for me when my fiancé isn’t home. Which is practically never when I’m home… And she’s gotten really into Chopped and I think my head’s going to explode if I have to watch another episode. And the worst part is that the food they make on their doesn’t even look edible half the time…” 

She sighed and grabbed a couple of beers out of her fridge, handing one over to her best friend before popping the cap off of her own and taking a long swing of the amber liquid. As far as ways she could spend her Tuesday evening she figured drinking beer and watching… Mythbusters... Of course… With LaF was about as good as she could get at the moment… At least she had her “date” to look forward to…  _ This isn’t going to end well. _

**~Begin Again~**

She knew deep down that it didn’t  _ really  _ matter. That she was going to meet LaF’s friend, have coffee with her and then probably never see her again since there was no way she’d want them to go out again.  _ I mean, who wants to be seen on a date with Miss Broods-A-Lot… Especially more than once.  _ Despite this she still found herself feeling like a nervous high schooler going out on her very first date with her long time crush. She let out a soft, steadying sigh before turning to look at herself in the mirror, immediately groaning when she saw her reflection staring back at her.

“I look like a hooker…” 

There was a snort from her bed and she turned slightly to glare at the pair of red-heads cuddling with each other on the end closest to her and the closet. LaF shook their head in amusement at her statement while clearly trying to hold back another fit.

“Well… You said it not me.” Perry shushed her partner with a stern glare before turning back to Carmilla with a thoughtful look on her face. 

“I’ll admit it’s probably not the best outfit for this particular occasion… Try wearing a less… Sultry top… Your red button would look nice… Oh and your combat boots.” Perry held out a dark red dress shirt for her to take and she quickly switched shirts, throwing the low cut, sequined,  _ glittery  _ red blouse (which she was certain was her sisters) at LaF. Who caught it and tossed it behind them and into the trash can without a second thought.

“And you should wear your black jeans instead of your leather pants. It’ll look better with the boots… Makes it look like you’re trying but not  _ really  _ trying. Not to mention they make your legs look good. Don’t look at me like that Perr, you know I’m right and we’re trying to be helpful. No not that pair Carm… Yes that pair…” Carmilla changed pants while the other two quietly debated which pair of jeans showed off her figure better. She rolled her eyes at the amount of work she was putting into a date she didn’t really want to go on in the first place… Okay so there might be a small part of her that at the very least missed the more intimate parts of being in a relationship… And maybe enough time had passed that in all of her self doubt there was a small glimmer of hope that had managed to worm it’s way into her otherwise solid belief that there was no one out there that could possibly feel that way about her. Not after… She turned around, casting the thought from her mind and spread her arms so they could appraise her new outfit. Perry nodded her head enthusiastically but LaF still had a small frown on their face.

“What?” She asked them, but LaF didn’t respond. Instead they walked over to her closet and started rummaging around looking for something. After a couple of seconds they pulled back, her black leather vest clutched in their hand as they held it out to her.

“Wear this, helps to keep up your badass image and all.” They bumped her shoulder as they made their way back over to the bed and she slipped the vest on and looked in the mirror. She instantly felt better about her outfit now that she was wearing something that she was actually comfortable being seen in. Suddenly Perry appeared at her side and slid LaF’s black fedora on top of her head, completing the look and Carmilla smirked.

“Thanks guys.” She looked at them both and LaF shot her a thumbs up while Perry rubbed her shoulder comfortingly. She glanced over at the clock and saw that she still had forty minutes to kill before she needed to leave. She gave Perry’s shoulder a squeeze before walking over to the couch and sinking into the cushions just in time to watch Perry and LaF finish shifting so they were facing her again. “So… What can you tell me about her while we’re waiting?” They shared an excited look before turning back to her.

“Well, she’s twenty four, works for the LGBT+ newspaper  _ Queers Anonymous _ where she’s one of their top reporters. She actually just finished an article on the  _ bury your gays  _ troupe in the media, it’s really good. Actually it just came out in the latest issue. She actually went to school with us, you just never really got to meet her cause you were always so busy and she was a couple of years younger than us. We actually met her cause I was her floor don her freshman year.” 

“She also has this superpower where she can ingest as many sweets as she wants without gaining weight or going into a sugar coma. I’m pretty sure she’s going to turn into a dessert one of these days at this rate. Actually I have a picture of us from that party the other day, hold on.” LaF dug their phone out of their pocket and after a minute of searching seemed to find what they were looking for. They held out their phone and she took it without a second thought and looked at the picture. 

Her first thought was that she was tiny and blonde. She was squeezed in between LaF and Perry and was giving the camera a huge, dorky grin, her toned arms wrapped loosely around the two gingers’ shoulders. Her second thought was to laugh at her thought from the night before.  _ This girl is about as far from tall, dark and handsome as you can get. She’s short, with a sunny personality and she’s adorable.  _ And suddenly LaF’s reaction to her description the night before made a lot more sense and she decided to voice the thought.

“No wonder you looked so amused last night, she’s definitely not the type I normally go after.” LaF shrugged.

“Figure that’ll be good for you. She’s got enough energy for the both of you and honestly you could use a little light in your life. And Laura is almost literally a little ball of sunshine.”  _ Laura  _ she decided it was probably important to remember the name of the girl she was going to meet so she filed it away for later use. She handed them back their phone.

“You’re probably right.” LaF smiled happily at her and kissed Perry’s cheek. 

“Okay Carm, it’s about time you get going. Don’t forget to wear your helmet and to breath. She doesn’t bite.” 

“Hard.” 

“LaF!” 

“What? I know things…” 

Carmilla didn’t hear the rest of the conversation as she shut her front door behind her. Her motorcycle helmet tucked under one arm while her other hand was busy locking the door.  _ Alright… Time to go meet little miss sunshine. _


	2. Wednesday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a ton of fun to write if I'm being honest. I left it mostly unedited because I felt like it needed the authentic feeling I got from it when I first wrote it and I was afraid any real editing might take away from the awkward flow that was meant to be happening. So yeah. Hope you like this chapter. :)

**Chapter Two: Wednesday**

Carmilla walked into the cafe a bundle of nerves. The twenty minute ride doing nothing except give her time to freak out without have LaF and Perry there to calm her down. She glanced around the room looking for a place to sit and was shocked to see the girl she was there to meet was already there, tucked away in a small corner booth with her oversized headphones on typing away at the laptop in front of her like a woman on a mission. She took a moment to admire the girl without her knowing, taking in her zebra print top and plain black dress pants, impressed that she managed to make zebra print actually look professional. Or maybe it was the fact that she was wearing a pair of thin reading glasses as her fingers danced across the keyboard that helped keep her from looking at like a preschooler.  _ She probably still gets carded for things _ . She thought with a smirk as the blonde stuck her tongue out of her mouth slightly as she thought about whatever it was she was doing.  _ So do I just walk up to her or what? Cause I’m a good thirty minutes early so maybe she wanted to work until I got here… Maybe I should go wait with my bike until closer to when we were supposed to meet…  _ She didn’t get a chance to decide what her next course of action should because at that moment the other girl just happened to look up and their eyes met. Her eyes brightened slightly and she smiled at her, taking her large set of headphones off and sliding out of the booth to go meet her.  _ Guess I’m going to go meet her. _

She didn’t really get a chance to move more than a step before the short blonde had bounced up to her with an infectious smile which she very quickly caught.  _ This girl is going to kill me and she hasn’t even said anything yet.  _ Carmilla didn’t get to dwell on that thought though cause then the girl started talking.

“Hi, I’m Laura. LaF’s friend… Though you probably knew that… Actually maybe you didn’t and you thought I was just some random stranger… I’m not random, I’m Laura… I already said that didn’t I? I sound random… Well anyways you’re Carmilla I recognize you from the pictures and stuff… Not that I was like stalking you or anything LaF just showed me some pictures of you guys together so I know who I was looking out for. Nope definitely not a creepy stalker. Not that me saying that proves much of anything cause I’m sure that’s what all stalkers would say… Not that I know cause I’m not a stalker… I’m just pulling from watching tv and stuff… Not that television is necessarily the best way to learn things but I mean it helped me figure out I’m a lesbian so that’s gotta count for something right? Wait don’t answer that. You probably didn’t want or need to know that. Anyways I’m going to stop talking now…” Carmilla’s eyebrows had made their way into her hairline as the other girl was talking and now she was feeling a little to shocked to speak.  _ LaF was right. She’s got enough energy for both of us… And probably two or three other people as well.  _ Laura seemed to think her silence as a bad thing cause she started talking again after a second. “I’m totally freaking you out right now aren’t I? Oh, Danny said I always did this… Unless your aren’t who I think you are in which case…” Carmilla gently rest her hand over the blondes mouth before she could get any farther.  _ Okay Karnstein, stop short circuiting and use your words… You used to actually have game remember?  _

“Calm down, Cupcake. I’m who you thought I was, I was just trying to make sure I understood everything you had said before responding. Wouldn’t want to seem inattentive now would I?”  _ YES! That was kinda smooth… Or at least I didn’t trip over any of my words, which is always a plus.  _

“Okay then. Let me try this again. Hi, I’m Laura Hollis.” The blonde held out her hand for her to shake. Outwardly Carmilla just smirked and shook her hand, however her brain had somehow managed to short circuit again and all her brain could think was something along the lines of;  _ Soft… Pretty… Holy shit I’m screwed… This is what sparks feel like. _

“And I’m Carmilla Karnstein, though from the sound of it you already knew that.” She internally sighed.  _ Good job words… Keep on making sense.  _ She couldn’t help noticing the light blush that formed on the other girl’s cheeks at her words and she relaxed slightly inside.  _ Okay, I can do this… Probably. _

“So would you like to come sit down? I hear they make a mean stack of pancakes here.” And she couldn’t help the small smile that fell into place on her face at the adorable little person in front of her. 

“I suppose I could be persuaded to stick around for a little while. As long as the company’s good.” She watched as Laura relaxed and felt instantly better.

“I’ll see who I can find.”

**~Begin Again~**

“...And then LaF jumped off the top of the building. Just about gave Perry a heart attack, not that I can blame her, I was pretty freaked out too. We thought they were trying to kill themselves, thankfully it was just their flare for being a drama person…” Laura was looking at her with comically wide eyes, her cup of coffee forgot as she listened to the story Carmilla was telling her. 

“I knew their parents didn’t take it well be that’s a bit extreme.” 

“Oh but I didn’t get to the best part. See they had actually told their parents that they were dating Perry right before we got up there so they were pissed about that too. And then once we got down to where they land landed with their glide suit they actually proposed. Right there in the middle of the water fountain, and I mean in the middle of it, with their parents watching on all huffy and surrounded by other students. It was pretty awesome. And Perry actually forgot to yell at them about jumping off of buildings she was so shocked, cause she thought they weren’t interested in getting married at all in the first place. It was super sweet really, even the part when their parents tried to tell them that they’d disown they if they went through with it. They told them that they didn’t need them and that they were going to make their own family before dragging Perry off the scene leaving me there to finish the chewing out… And I didn’t hold any punches there either.” Laura laughed as she finished. Finally remembering her coffee and taking a drink of it. 

“That is nothing like what they told me happened. They just said they had a fight about it and they walked off and never looked back.” Carmilla shook her head with a laugh.

“Oh no… They always try to downplay it. But I was there and trust me, it was insane at best.” Laura laughed again and Carmilla found herself growing addicted to the sound,  _ no one’s ever found the amusement in that story before… Hell…  _ **_She’d_ ** _ even suggested that they go to counseling to fix them… And she wasn’t referring to their death defying stunts.  _ Carmilla didn’t know what to do at that point really, she was so used to having to fight for her dates to notice her that she didn’t really know what to do when she had her undivided attention.  _ This is nice…  _

**~Begin Again~**

“...So I went to school the next next day dressed as the grim reaper and proceeded to terrorize the whole group of them during recess. My dad wasn’t even mad when I told him why I hadn’t been in class that day and those kids faces were priceless. Anyways they never tried to steal any of our lunch money again cause they thought I could summon the grim reaper at will.” Carmilla lost it and ended up choking on her coffee as she tried not to laugh.

“Only you Cupcake. Only you could convince a whole class you could summon the grim reaper.” Laura patted her on the back with a smirk as she tried to to die choking on her coffee.

“I was very determined. Of course later on I found better ways of dealing with situations like that. That’s actually why I became a reporter, so I could unveil the truth and give people justice.” Carmilla raised an eyebrow.

“Because some kids stole you and your friends lunch money?” Laura huffed.

“It was traumatic for little me… At that point I was still sure the world ran on rainbows, glitter and unicorns.” Carmilla snorted.

“When you were in the seventh grade?” 

“I was very much in denial.” 

**~Begin Again~**

“...So I walk into the living room and they are both there in their underwear singing karaoke on the television and they are so ridiculously drunk... I didn’t know what to do with them. So I drag them back to their room and try to make them go to sleep but they seemed to have slightly different plans cause they started going at it like wild rabbits the moment I got them into the same bed… Needless to say I spent the night in a hotel.” Carmilla finished, Laura laughing away loudly across the booth. 

“Oh god… What did they say the next morning?” 

“That’s the best part, neither of them remember what happened they were so drunk. LaF called me at around two to let me know they were both hungover and that they’d call me back later cause it was their turn to hold back her hair.” 

“Figures they’re secretly that couple. Like with the way Perry acts you’d think she’d make LaF wait til they were married at least.” Carmilla laughed.

“Oh no. Mama Perr is responsible for at least seventy percent of the things I’ve walked in on them doing. And I walk in on them at least every other week since I live next door to them.” 

“That’s slightly scary.” 

“Don’t I know it.”

**~Begin Again~**

When she finally looked around for the first time in what was probably hours she realized two things. The first was that the cafe was much emptier that it had been when she arrived, there were only two other people in the cafe and they were both in line to pick up something to go. The second thing was that it had gotten dark outside, which wouldn’t have been that big of a deal had they not decided to meet up early for breakfast. 

“Holy cow, it’s gotten late Cupcake.” Laura looked up and her eyes widened in shock as she looked around. She glanced down at her laptop and following her gaze Carmilla saw that it said it was just before seven.

“We’ve been here for nine hours. Wow, definitely didn’t feel like it…” She couldn’t help but agree, time had flown by so quickly she hadn’t noticed it passing. She glanced at her phone and groaned realizing that since she had silenced it she hadn’t gotten the several dozen texts from LaF and Perry they had been sending her periodically since she left. “LaFerry text you a lot? Cause I’ve got forty two missed messages between the two of them.” Carmilla nodded.

“I’m at sixty thr… Four… They just sent another one.” 

**LaF: Just checking in again… Perry said to remind you to use protection.**

**Carmilla: Not happening… Still at the cafe.**

**LaF: Wait WHAT?**

**Carmilla: I know, I know… I’ll tell you everything later.**

She looked up as Laura was finishing sending off a text of her own. She looked up and smiled as their eyes locked. She held up her phone.

“Texting Perry…” 

“Same… Just with LaF.”

“Yeah.”

“Yep…” 

“So… It’s getting a little late… And I have work tomorrow so…” 

“Oh yeah, of course.” 

“So… Maybe wanna do this again sometime?”  Carmilla couldn't help the dance party that broke out in her brain when she asked.

“Sure… Same time next week?” Laura gave her a smile as they got up, paying for their bill before Carmilla got a chance to.

“Yeah, I’ll be here.” 

“Okay.” 

“See ya.”

Laura paused, about to walk out the door before surprising them both and leaning up to press a kiss to Carm’s cheek before disappearing into the night. And in that moment, Carmilla knew she was screwed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that scene that Carm was talking about... The one where LaF jumped off the building and afterwards proposed to Perry? There's a part of me that would kinda like to write it out if enough people want to read it... Partly because I'm LaFerry trash and I just adore them... Okay actually that's mostly it... LaF's just my favorite character ever... Kaitlyn Alexander is totally my idol... Like 100%...


	3. Begin Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, last chapter! I'm going to say now that this was originally going to be two chapters but I realized rather quickly I can not for the life of me write smut (which probably has something to do with the whole me being a virgin thing.) So I changed up how I was going to end the story and we got this instead. So I apologize for the lack of smut... But I really didn't feel like trying to (for lack of a better term) "get laid" just so I could write the scene out. On that note if someone else wants to take a shot at it by all means... Be my guest.

**Chapter Three: Begin Again**

It had been two months since she met Laura. They met every Wednesday at the cafe to hang out and normally spent the whole day there. Their time split between talking, eating and surprisingly working. Carmilla had started to bring her laptop with her so that they could spend some time on work if they needed to and she rather enjoyed hearing Laura’s commentary on her students essays that she was trying to grade. It felt strange falling into a routine with her so easily and whenever they were apart every fiber of her being told her to run and never look back because there was no way whatever was going on between them could end well for her. But she continued to go anyways. Something about being in the blonde’s presence calmed the sea that was her insecurities and left her feeling all warm and fuzzy inside… Or maybe that was the shot of whatever she was drinking. She hadn’t gone to the bar in well over a year and she’d admit that her alcohol tolerance wasn’t what it used to be. She still downed her drink, she was celebrating after all. She had just finished grading the last of her finals and it was a Tuesday, more than enough reason to go out. 

“Hey cutie what’cha drinking?” And this was why she didn’t go out. Was it really to much to ask to go get a drink without some stranger hitting on her? She chanced a glance at the girl next to her and sighed internally. Because this girl was the type of girl she’d normally have a one night fling with but despite that she couldn’t bring herself to even be remotely interested.  _ Damn you Laura. Why’d you have to be so easy to fall for?  _

“Sorry sweetheart, I’m taken.” The sort of lie slipped easily out of her mouth and she felt a small spark of happiness at the thought.  _ Maybe. Maybe it’ll happen… I mean she’s still spending time with me on a regular basis so that’s gotta count for something right?  _ She was so lost in thought she almost missed what the other girl said next. 

“So? I don’t see her anywhere around here. Besides I’m certain I can show you a better time than some chick that can’t even go clubbing with you.” And for some reason (if she was being honest she knew why she just wasn’t willing to admit it yet) she found herself upset at the other girls insinuation. 

“I’m quite happy with her actually, the only reason she’s not here is because she had to work tonight.”  _ And you didn’t ask her to join you cause you were scared she’d say no.  _ The other girl scoffed. 

“Still not seeing any issue here. Her loss is my gain and all that.” She tried to wrap an arm around Carmilla’s shoulders but her shrugged her off as she dug her phone out of her pocket and sent off a quick text. 

**Carmilla: Hey, what are you up too at the moment?**

She had been ignoring the girl’s advances while she was typing but she tuned back in just in time to catch her say something about getting a hotel room. 

“Sorry, I’m just not interested.” She glanced at her phone and was happy to see she had already gotten a reply from Laura.

**Cupcake: Right now? Netflix marathon with me, myself and I. Hbu?**

**Carmilla: Trying to enjoy a drink at the pub. Annoying girl making it difficult.**

**Cupcake: Oh really? Do tell.**

**Carmilla: She won’t stop hitting on me and it’s driving me crazy. I’ve told I’m not interested but she’s still coming on to me… And now she’s trying to feel me up hold on.**

Carmilla gently removed the other girl's arms from around her and pushed her back into her own seat. The girl pouted at her. “Oh come on, you know you want to. Let loose, have some fun.”

“I am having fun, I’m enjoying my drink while texting my girlfriend. Plenty of fun.” She went back to her phone as the other girl made a comment about her being more fun.

**Cupcake: Oooooo… Want me to come over? I’ll totally make her leave you alone.**

**Carmilla: YES! I need so much help right now. And I’d also love to see you outside of our normally scheduled time. :P**

**Cupcake: I’ll get ready and be over there in a few… Where is there exactly?**

**Carmilla: Oh, The Library Pub. The one across the street from the library.**

**Cupcake: Got’cha. Live close by, be there soon.**

Carmilla looked up again as the other girl started pawing at her again with a soft growl. She once again removed the girl's hands and took a shot of her drink that had magically refilled thanks to the bartender. It was then she realized what had just happened with Laura.  _ Oh shit, she’s coming here to hang out… Oh man what was I thinking… I am in no way prepared to see her.  _ She glanced down at her clothing and was happy to find herself in her normal clothing and nothing ridiculous.  _ Okay, this’ll be fine. Just like hanging out at the cafe just with alcohol instead of coffee eas… Oh you’ve got to be fucking kidding me.  _ Carmilla had just chanced a glance at the rest of the establishment and saw a familiar face making her way towards the bar.  _ Of course she’s here too. _

**Carmilla: And things just got worse… The ex just showed up.**

**Cupcake: You mean your most recent one?**

**Carmilla: Yep…**

**Cupcake: Okay, give me an extra like five minutes.**

**Carmilla: What… Why?**

**Cupcake: Just trust me. ;P**

“Carmilla?” Her voice was enough to make Carmilla shut down. Her conflicting emotions more than she was really ready to deal with, but she swallowed down the sinking feeling in her stomach and turned to face the other girl.

“Ell… Fancy seeing you here.” She kept her voice neutral as she spoke, not really trusting herself not to say something stupid as the other girl stood next to the girl that had been hitting on her for the past several minutes, leaning down to give her a peck on the lips.  _ Figures. _

“Yes, how fascinating. This is my  _ new  _ girlfriend by the way, Nancy babe, this is the ex I’d told you about. Carmilla.” She watched as the other girl recoiled slightly and scrunched her nose up in disgust.  _ Well at least she’s not hitting on me anymore. _

“You’re Carmilla?” She worked her hardest to keep her expression flat at their words. Choosing instead to take another drink from her glass. 

“I know. Not really sure why I dated her but obviously I traded up huh babe?” Ell asked and Carmilla still somehow managed to school her expression. Ell’s girlfriend,  _ Nancy _ , continued to look at her in disgust while Carmilla bit her tongue to keep from reminding the girl that she’s been hitting on her right up until Ell showed up.

“Clearly. We were talking before you showed up and she tried to tell me she has a girlfriend.” Ell laughed.

“Sure, like someone would actually want to date her. She just likes to make herself seem less pathetic than she really is, huh Carm?” She didn’t have to respond because at that moment she felt a pair of lean arms wrap around her torso from behind just as the other girl’s perfume washed over her.  _ Laura. _

“Hey Carm.” She pressed a kiss to her cheek in way of greeting and winked at her.  _ Yep, this isn’t going to go well for them is it.  _ “Sorry it took me so long to get here, I had to finish editing the new guy’s article. He seems to have a thing for trying to write his stuff in second person and I can’t seem to break him of that habit.” She didn’t even question how well Laura’s reason for being late fit in with the reason she had made up for her being late and instead just curled farther into her embrace. 

“No problem Cupcake. I’m just glad you made it.” She smiled at the blonde and finally got to take a good look at her, her eyes nearly popping out in the process. Gone were the animal print tops and in their place was a simple white and gold dress and suddenly she understood why Laura took the extra couple of minutes, she was totally about to start messing with her ex and Carmilla couldn’t be more grateful. Laura seemed to notice that Carmilla had figured out what was going on and winked at her again before burying her face in her crook of her neck with a soft giggle. 

“So, you want to introduce me to your friends?” She asked, pressing a open mouthed kiss to the side of her neck, causing the brunette to short circuit slightly. 

“Yeah, this is Ell and her girlfriend Nancy. Ell, Nancy, meet my girlfriend, Laura.” Laura held out a hand for the two baffled girls to shake and after a couple moments of awkward silence she put it back down with a shrug and went back to pressing kisses to the side of her face.

“Wait, you  _ actually  _ have a girlfriend?” Carmilla shrugged slightly as Laura shot her a smirk. 

“Well last I checked anyways. Cupcake?”  _ I cannot believe this is happening right now. Holy cow how on earth… You know what I don’t care cause the look on that bitch’s face right now is priceless and… Shit what on earth is she doing? Okay keep it together Karnstein you can deal with your hornyness later right now we’re getting back at Ell.  _ Admittedly it was pretty hard to focus with the blonde blatantly feeling her up in public but she managed to pay enough attention to know what was going on anyways. 

“I do believe so.” She bit her ear gently and Carmilla just about lost it.  _ Okay how is this the same clumsy, adorable goofball I’ve been seeing. Oh shit… Okay maybe it’s time to find a way out of here, at the very least to put some space between us so I don’t try to jump her or something like that.  _

“You wanna get out of here Cupcake? I’m sure we can find something a little more… Adult to keep up entertained don’t you think?” Laura traced a finger down the side of her neck, following the path down her shoulder and arm until her intertwined their fingers, she bit her lip slightly causing Carmilla to swoon internally before finally answering. 

“I think I’d like that… Very much…” Carmilla placed a couple of twenties on the bar and nodded to the bartender.

“Keep the change.” She managed to call back as Laura drug her through the mass of bodies on the dance floor, her eyes bright with mirth as they met Carmilla’s shell shocked gaze. Once they made it outside Laura dropped her hand, but before she could really mourn the loss she had instead wrapped an arm around her waist, leaving Carmilla to wrap her arm around the shorter girl’s shoulders as she started laughing happily while they made their way down the street. 

“So… Theoretically if I would have punched her would you have been mad?” Carmilla laughed and rolled her eyes and the girl who was currently tucked under her arm.

“Totally. So much madness to been seen.” Laura snorted and rest her head on Carmilla’s shoulder. 

“You’re such a dork.” She kissed Carmilla’s cheek and the other girl blushed slightly. “This is me.” Laura gestured to a tiny bookstore and Carmilla raised an eyebrow at her. Laura rolled her eyes. “I live in the loft above the store. The people who own it are gone on business most of the time so I live here for free to keep an eye on the store, it works out pretty well actually.” They stood there for several seconds, neither really sure what to do. Laura coughed. “So… Would you like to come up? My Netflix is still on… We could watch one of those cartoons you’re so fond of… I think they just added Hotel Transylvania 2.” Carmilla smiled down at the other girl.

“I think I’d like that very much.”

**~Begin Again~**

Several hours later Carmilla found herself happily curled up into Laura’s side as the end credits of  _ Lilo and Stitch  _ rolled across the screen. She hummed contentedly as the other girl subconsciously ran her fingers through her hair and Carmilla nestled farther into her embrace, the gentle thumping of Laura’s heart resonating in her ear.  _ This feels nice… Domestic even… I wonder what she’s thinking about? Oh… She’s giving me that look again… Is my hair messed up or something? Oh shit she’s saying something. _

“...So I figure you can stay over. Don’t want you trying to walk home at… Two O’clock in the morning… Nope you’re definitely not walking at this time.”  _ Oh… Wait what? _

“It’s no problem Cupcake, I don’t want to impose.”  _ Unless you actually want me to stay…  _ The thought came unbidden to her mind as Laura shot her a look that told her she was not going to be leaving even if she actually wanted to.

“You aren’t imposing Carm. Besides it’s late and your place is a thirty minute walk from here. Come on, we’ll go find you some pjs, I’m pretty sure I have some that’ll fit you. It’ll be like a sleepover!” Laura’s eyes lit up and Carmilla knew there was no way she was going to be able to say no to the other girl.

“Whatever you want Cupcake.” She instantly regretted saying it when Laura let out a squeak and shot off the couch and darted into her bedroom, leaving Carmilla to barely keep herself from falling onto the floor since there wasn’t anyone holding her up anymore.  _ You’re lucky you’re cute Creampuff.  _ The thought was resolidified when Laura returned with a pair of cheetah print pajama bottoms and a pink tank top covered in multicolored polka dots for her to wear.

“Here put these on, you want some more?” Laura gestured towards Carmilla’s empty wine glass as the brunette took the clothing and nodded her thanks as the other girl took off to her kitchen area to get their refills. “You can change in my room if you’d like.”

“Thanks Cupcake.” Carmilla slid into Laura’s room and surveyed the room as she was changing. She almost laughed because the room was so  _ Laura.  _ There were posters covering every inch of the walls except for where the two large bookshelves stood pressed up against the far wall, filled to the brim with books, movies, television shows and other random knick knacks she didn’t really know the use of. Next to her was Laura’s work desk and laptop but even that area wasn’t spared from the organized clutter that coated every inch of the room. Actually the only thing in the room that seemed super organized was what she could see inside of Laura’s closet, which was color coordinated and sorted by type of clothing.

Once she finished changing clothing she chanced a glance in the mirror next to her and snorted before walking back out into the living room. She curled back up on the couch and took back her previous position cuddled into Laura’s side. She took her drink from the table and downed half of it as Laura flipped through the movies on Netflix trying to find another one for them to watch.  _ She’s so beautiful, even when in her silly pajamas trying to pick out a movie she still manages to be the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met. Damn I really need to figure out what’s going on here cause I’m not sure I’m going to be able to bounce back from this if it goes any farther.  _ Carmilla wasn’t sure how what happened next actually happened, all she knew was that one moment their eyes had met and the next Laura had kissed her.  _ Oh…  _ Her brain turned off and months of endless worrying about what to do faded away as she was held by the shorter girl, her lips moving softly against hers in a dance Carmilla had nearly forgotten.  _ …Okay. _

She didn’t fight it when her hand made its way from her side to cup the other girl’s cheek. She didn’t fight it when Laura wrapped her arms around her shoulders and pulled her closer. She didn’t fight it when she deepened the kiss. She didn’t fight it when she suddenly found herself hovering over the other girl as they ended up laying across the couch. And she certainly didn’t fight it when Laura’s hand made it’s way under her shirt and started tracing her bare sides. What she did fight was the needy sound that escaped from her throat when Laura pulled away. She fought to keep her breathing regular so the other girl wouldn’t know just how breathless she had left her. She fought the urge to lean down and recapture the other girl’s bottom lip between her own. And she definitely fought the urge to spill her guts to the blonde then and there.

“Hey.”  _ Oh god, please stop looking at me like that. _

“Hey.”  _ Please never stop looking at me like that.  _ She gently ran her fingers up the other girl’s side.

And she kissed her again because there were no easy words to describe what she was feeling in that moment. All she could do was feel and hope that it translated in her actions as she kissed her way down the other girl's neck, peppering love bites down her pale skin as she went, feeling more confident by the second as Laura let out soft moans from beneath her.  _ This is so totally worth it. _

**~Begin Again~**

Carmilla woke up on the most comfortable bed she had ever slept on. It was soft, hot and…  _ Wait… Bed’s aren’t suppose to be hot… That’s not normal.  _ She cracked an eye open and saw a flash of messy blonde hair before screwing her eyes shut.  _ Not bed… Person… Naked person… I’m a naked person too… Still comfy…  _ A soft smile made its way to her lips as memories from the previous night returned to her.  _ That’s right, Laura… Okay…  _ She curled impossibly closer to the other girl, burying her face in her neck as she did.  _ Think I’ll stay like this forever… Go back to sleep.  _ Naturally her plans were interrupted by her bed deciding to wake up just then with a yawn, almost causing Carmilla to slide off the blonde.

“No move. Sleep time.” 

“Good morning to you too.” But she didn’t move again. Seemingly content to just let Carmilla lay there in the world between sleep and consciousness. Carmilla smirked slightly as a thought occurred to her. 

“So… Are we still on coffee later?” Laura laughed and wrapped her arms around Carmilla’s waist.

“Are you sure you actually want to leave this bed at any point today?” Carmilla hummed in agreement.

“Good point, no need to share you with the world. They can have you later.” 

And that’s what they did. Spending the whole day locked up in Laura’s apartment marathoning  _ Buffy  _ while completely oblivious to the world around them. Carmilla was certain the world could end and neither of them would have noticed and she couldn’t really bring herself to care.

She might not have came into this looking for anything but she still somehow managed to find the one thing she didn’t know she was looking for. Laura Hollis. The virtual ray of sunshine in what had previously been her stormy life. 

_ I should probably thank LaF and Perry.  _

**~Begin Again: Extra~**

“YES! Carm just called me and you’ll never guess where she is right now!” LaF came bouncing into the kitchen with the largest grin Perry had ever seen on their face. Perry raised an eyebrow at her fiancé. 

“It’s Wednesday… She’s been with Laura almost all day every Wednesday since they met. That’s their thing.” LaF shook their head and she gave them a look that said they’d better start explaining before she started hitting them with her wooden spoon.

“She didn’t come home last night, didn’t you notice the lack of anxious pacing going on next door? And that’s not even the best part, she didn’t come home because she went home with Laura!” Now that definitely got her attention.

“You mean that they…” 

“Yes.” 

“Which means…” 

“No more broody Carmilla.”

“And Laura…” 

“No longer has to drunk text us after every meeting about how much she had wanted to jump Carmilla but was worried it was too soon.” 

“Took them long enough.” Perry gave them a short kiss. “Good job Sweetie. Now you can focus on that experiment you’ve been going on about instead of getting our friends together.” 

“Well actually… I was thinking about trying to set Mel and Elsie up… I think they’d like each other a lot.” Perry groaned and wrapped her arms around LaF’s shoulders, pressing her forehead against theirs and just standing there for several seconds before speaking. 

“Sweetie… I love you… But we need to take a break… We can reopen the matchmaking business in a couple of weeks. Okay?” LaF pretended to think about it for a couple of seconds.

“Well… Okay… But just cause it’s you.” She kissed them properly before turning back to the food she was making. Leaving LaF to wrap their arms around her waist from behind and press a kiss to her cheek. “What’s for dinner?” She gave them a pointed look.

“Tacos.” LaF smirked.

“Can’t wait.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this. :)   
> I'm thinking about a couple of different pieces right now I'd like to do. 
> 
> One of them is another multi-chapter Hollstein/LaFerry story. I kinda want to take a shot at a Hogwarts AU cause I think it would be a lot of fun. 
> 
> I also have another longer Hollstein/LaFerry story but it's a High School AU that's LaF centered with a bit of a Soulmate AU aspect thrown in for good measure. This one has a ton of feels and is a bit less fluffy than what I normally write but it also hits pretty close to home for me (it deals with bullying, in particular directed towards a trans spectrum individual, and I'm trans so...) so this one I might end up writing anyways just to vent a little cause I live in a pretty conservative town and... Well I hardly need to tell anyone in this fandom the issues with being LGBT in a small town.
> 
> And the last one I'm looking at is a one or two shot for the Supergirl fandom because Kara/Lena and Alex/Maggie have taken over my heart at a scary speed. Anyways if you actually watch the show I want to write my own version of Maggie and Lena finding out that Kara is Supergirl. And this totally includes Maggie being jealous of Supergirl cause that is my favorite this to read as far as Alex/Maggie goes. 
> 
> Anyways let me know if these sound interesting so I know what people are interested in seeing. Also feel free to check out my other stories. I have one other Hollstein short and two Clexa fics on here. Okay enough self promotion. Hope you're having a good [insert time of day] and I'll see ya'll later. 
> 
> P.S. I just realized that I write in my accent sometimes... Oops...

**Author's Note:**

> I spent ten minutes trying to come up with a summary before I remembered I wrote one before I even started on the first chapter... I really need some coffee...


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